Disclaimer: I received an advance reader's copy (ARC - Uncorrected Manuscript Proof) of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.(The book is due to be published on May, 2015; review written on 08/05/2015).

“Follow your weird.”(Bruce Sterling)

By means of communications and implant technologies we are simultaneously here and there. Using graphs and prostheses, we blend our physical being with that of others and with artifacts. By extending our knowledge of the body and the ancient arts of nutrition, we have devised hundreds of ways of constructing and remodeling ourselves. We can change our individual metabolism through the use of drugs and medicaments, which serve as physiological agents. And the pharmaceutical industry continues to discover new active principles. Kotler states: “In 1935, veterinary nutritionist Clive McCay found that limiting caloric intake in lab animals – which slows metabolic rate – decreased and delayed the onset of age-related diseases and significantly extended life span. [ ] Denham Harman postulated in 1954 that oxygen radicals or free radicals are both byproducts of metabolism and responsible for the damages associated with aging and death.”

Wikipedia in English (1)

New York Times, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, Discover bestselling author Steven Kotler has written extensively about those pivotal moments when science fiction became science fact…and fundamentally reshaped the world. Now he gathers the best of his best, updated and expanded upon, to guide readers on a mind-bending tour of the far frontier, and how these advances are radically transforming our lives. From the ways science and technology are fundamentally altering our bodies and our world (the world’s first bionic soldier, the future of evolution) to those explosive collisions between science and culture (life extension and bioweapons), we’re crossing moral and ethical lines we’ve never faced before.

As Kotler writes, “Life is tricky sport—and that's the emotional core of this story, the real reason we can’t put Pandora back in the box. When you strip everything else away, technology is nothing more than the promise of an easier tomorrow. It’s the promise of hope. And how do you stop hope?”

Join Kotler in this fascinating exploration of our incredible next: a deep dive into those future technologies happening now—and what it means to be a part of this brave new world.